Kuranda Or Bust

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Friday, and our last full day in Port Douglas. I wanted to take the train to Kuranda, then come back on Skyrail, the cable car system running over the top of tropical rainforest from Kuranda to just north of Cairns. Peter and Yvonne have already been on this, and so were not interested. Keiran was in Sydney, and for Cameron and Michelle, the trip was too long for Jake and Flynn. So I had a solo journey.

I bought a package tour which collected me from Hibiscus Gardens, drove to the Freshwater train station to catch the train to Kuranda, then returning via Skyrail and being delivered back to Hibiscus Gardens.

To The Train

After the usual stops along the way to collect passengers, the minibus was on its way. We stopped at Rex Lookout, named after Raymond Rex, a councillor and then chairman of Douglas Shire Council from 1913 - 1955. The plaque at the lookout also states that was an early advocate of The Captain Cook Highway, on which we were travelling, and which was officially opened in December, 1933. Part of the reason for stopping was for the driver to collect payment from those of us who had only paid a deposit. But it's also the only place on the road with a good view along the coast towards Cairns.

Looking south along the coast to Palm Cove (just past the headland) and Cairns, which is not really visible from here.

A more detailed view of the Palm Cove area, showing Double Island on the left of the image. The double humps are clearly visible, especially in this close up. Also visible in the distance is the Quicksilver catamaran bringing reef goers from Cairns to Port Douglas for transfter to their reef excursion boat.

After Rex Lookout, the road descends to just above water level for much of the way. And much to my surprise, here is the Quicksilver boat we saw in the far distance heading to Port Douglas. I was surprised how close it was to the beach.

We continued uneventfully to Caravonica, the coastal end of Skyrail, where we dropped off some passengers, and collected a couple of others heading to the train station.


We arrived at the station with time to spare, which was just as well, because there are only a few trains per day! And we had to catch this one to ensure we returned on Skyrail in time for return delivery to Port Douglas.

The road side of Freshwater Station. This was built in 1984 as a tribute to the visionaries and pioneers who built the Kuranda Scenic Railway between 1887 and 1891. Although, of course, it was built to provide reliable, all-weather transport to the tin mines on the Atherton Tablelands, and later for agricultural transport!

Trackside view of Freshwater Station. Not easily visible on the left side are a couple of 85 year old carriages converted for restaurant use.

Looking along the platform as the train becomes visible in the distance. The only visible sign of the train here is its headlight.

The train slowly moving along the platform.


Port Douglas
On The Train

Updated at 21:16 EST on Sat Jul 8, 2006
Copyright (C) 2005 - 2006, Lindsay Harris